Italian Dinner

One of our favorite Italian restaurants came under new ownership and was closed for about a month and just recently reopened. JoAnn and I had dinner at the restaurant with friends. Left-to-right: Nora (previous part owner), JoAnn, Ed (95 years old), and Windel. The food is terrific! 

Dinosaur Valley State Park

JoAnn and I visited Dinosaur Valley State Park outside of Glenrose, TX. The park is noted for having several areas where tracks of the Apatosaurus and Tyrannosaurus Rex can be found in the Paluxy River.

Look closely at the submerged portion of the white rock along the river bank. A 3-toed foot print is visible underneath the water.

Caprock Canyons State Park

The park has hiking trails, mountain biking, and horse trails. Lots of things to see including this herd of bison that is allowed to roam the park and is under protection.

Part of the rock formations within the park. Some of these formations date back 280 - 250 Million years ago. 

Santa Fe, NM

JoAnn and I met with our good friends Robert and LuJean in Santa Fe, NM. We visited several art galleries and also explored the Bandalero National Monument. Here is a photo of our hotel, note the motif of the building which fits into the surrounding environment very well.

After seeing several art galleries, we went out to the Bandalero National Monument. Here is a overlook of the road out the monument (must look closely to see it).

Once at the visitor center, we took a short walk to a view point of Native American Indian dwellings in the side of a rock formation.

 The trip was excellent and we really had a good time.

Mineral Wells State Park

JoAnn and I took an afternoon trip to a nearby State Park known as Mineral Wells which is west of Fort Worth. The park contains Lake Mineral Wells as shown in the photo to the left and offers camping, hiking, biking, and horse trails to the enthusiast.

Here is JoAnn at one of the local stops around the lake showing off one of our favorite beverages we carried on the trip.

Here is a panorama of the lake taken from the dam.

Close up of some of the flowers blooming around the lake.

Snow? Here?

It snowed and the whole area came to an abrupt slowdown. Not used to this kind of stuff.

In many parts of the country, this little amount of snow would be only a minor inconvenience. But not for us, it has stopped traffic and caused major accidents.

Ed's 95th Birthday

Ed is the gentleman in the middle. This is Valentine's Day and it's also his 95th birthday. We're having a party with about 30 people and having cake and food.







We've also invited a photographer from the local newspaper to take photos of Ed and the cake. That was a complete surprise to him.

A City Park Outing

JoAnn and I went to a nearby city park for a short walk and found 100's of people also had the same idea. Luckily, we found a parking space and was able to do a quick walk for a bit. 

Small Pond Lake - Copper Breaks

Here is the Small Pond at Copper Breaks. The lake is much fuller than my previous visit last summer.

Big Pond Boat Dock

Here's JoAnn at the boat dock on Big Pond lake in Copper Breaks. It's a very windy day!

Taking A Break From the Cold Weather

JoAnn and I went up to Copper Breaks State Park for a picnic and to do some sightseeing. Here is JoAnn eating a DQ hamburger and french fries. Temps were in the high 60's with clear skies.

Thanksgiving Holidays

• We visited JoAnn's daughter Janet and her family and got to see two of our five great-grand children. Here are Caydee and Anna (grand children to JoAnn) posing with JoAnn. 

We had a great time and a delicious Thanksgiving dinner prepared by Janet and family.

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JoAnn and I took Ed, a friend of the family, out to a local seafood restaurant for dinner. Ed is 94 years old and still drives and does his household errands.The lady sitting with Ed is Mary, the owner of the restaurant. 

A Visit to the Grand Teton National Park

 We have paid a visit to Grand Teton Park with a follow up visit to Arches National Park. While at the Tetons we had the pleasure of being with our good friends Rob and LuJean. This trip was fun.

Copper Breaks State Park, Texas

May 19th and 20th found Tom visiting Copper Breaks State Park. The purpose of the trip was to recon a couple of trails that are suitable for mountain biking.